Hoo-ey! What a state! Applejack thought as she surveyed the messy bedroom. Since she was a filly, Applejack had kept it tidy. It helped to keep down the number of chores she had to do, but ever since Rainbow had begun to stay there, things had gotten a bit sloppy. Guess we get a mite distracted sometimes, Applejack thought. Eyeing a wastepaper basket that Rainbow had accidentally knocked over last night when she’d playfully thrown Applejack into bed, she grinned. Well, maybe a little more than ‘sometimes.’
Still snuggled under the covers, she’d spent the last half an hour trying to sleep in, but years of tending the farm had ingrained lifelong habits into her. She found that sleeping much past sunrise was almost impossible for her.
The spot that Rainbow Dash had left was rapidly cooling, despite Applejack moving into it once her marefriend had flown away. Laying her head on the pillow, she inhaled deeply, drinking in the scent that Rainbow’s mane had left there. It always smelled of fresh air and sunlight, with a hint of perspiration. Just enough to get Applejack’s blood pumping.
Glancing out the window again, she could see the sun peaking through the hills that boarded the south fields. Alright, filly Applejack thought, taking a deep breath. Enough lollygaggin’. Time to rise and shine.
Throwing the sheet back, Applejack swung her legs out and hopped onto her hooves. Groaning, she leaned forward, stretching her muscles and crying out as her shoulders popped. You’d think I was an ol’ mare, the way my body hurts in the mornin’, she thought, repeated the process by leaning back on her hips. After two more sharp cracks, she sighed deeply, shaking out her legs to get the muscles loosened up.
Grabbing her hat from the bedpost, Applejack casually dropped it onto her head before catching herself in her bureau’s mirror. Once her appearance hadn’t concerned her, but these days she caught herself looking at her reflection and trying to make sure her mane was a little tussled, but not messy. Nearing the mirror, she placed her hat on the bureau’s wooden top and ran a hoof through her mane a few times. There, she thought, pulling out a hair tie and slipping it over the end of her pony-tail. At least it looks like I care now.
As she lifted her hat to put it back on, a piece of paper underneath flew into the air. She tried to grab it as it fell to the floor, but the paper’s random zig-zagging motion was difficult to predict and she missed twice before it slid underneath the bed. Dang it! she though. That better not be what I think it is!
Falling onto her stomach, she fished around under the bed, grimacing at the large amount of dust bunnies that had appeared to have taken the area over. A guess we really have let things go a bit, she thought, finally snagging the dusty paper with her hoof. With a grunt, she rose to her hooves again. Yup, she thought as she stared down at the paper. She forgot her cloud chart. Again Sighing, she put it on the small table next to the window.
Applejack clapped her hooves together repeated, knocking the dust off of them. Well, if I’m ever goin’ to get this place together, I’d better get started, she thought, shaking her head at the piles of discarded towels, bits of paper, muddy hoofprints, and rumpled sheets. Those wings sure make a mess of things, she thought, righting a picture frame that had fallen over when Rainbow had taken off this morning.
Stopping for a moment, Applejack stared at the picture, tracing a line down Rainbow’s smiling face with her hoof. That picture had been the start of it all.
~~~
“Just wait and see, AJ!” Rainbow said, flapping so hard that she actually rose from the ground for a few seconds. “You’re gonna flip when you see The Tarantula! I went on it like twelve times yesterday!”
“I know,” Applejack said, snagging her hat out of the air as Rainbow’s downdraft caught it. “You’ve been tellin’ me about it all mornin’!”
“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow said, flushing a little. “But that’s not all! There’s this thing called The Seat of Terror!” Rainbow took to the air again, flying backward in front of Applejack and using her hooves to demonstrate. “First, they strap you into a chair that’s hooked up to this gigantic slingshot! Then, after they try and scare you with all this medical mumbo-jumbo, they let it go, and you shoot up into the air almost as fast as I take off!”
“If it’s slower than your actual flyin’ speed then what’s the big deal?” Applejack said, arching an eyebrown.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Because then it bounces back, and it totally leaves your stomach way up there in the air!” Rainbow sniggered, rubbing her hooves together. “I saw Cheerilee and some stallion get on there yesterday, and he totally fainted! You should have seen her face!”
“And you’re sayin’ this is fun?” Applejack said, scratching behind her ear. “Bein’ shot up in the air and bouncin’ around all over the place?”
“Oh, I get it?” Rainbow said, smirking. “I didn’t take your for a scaredy-pony. We can just stick to the foal rides if that’s more your speed.”
“I didn’t say nothin’ about bein’ scared!” Applejack replied, her jaw jutting forward. “I just said it doesn’t sound like all that much fun!” Applejack narrowed her eyes, grinning slyly. “Besides, I got a better idea!”
“Oh, yeah?” Rainbow said. With a thud, she landed beside the farmer, unconsciously matching her stride. “What do you have in mind? The Night-Mare? Sombra’s Saddle?”
“I ain’t heard you say one word about the haunted house,” Applejack said, glancing sidelong at Rainbow; grinning as the pegasus blanched. “Amethyst Star says it’s the scariest one they’ve ever had. So frightenin’ that they have to close it down halfway through the night ‘cause nopony else is willin’ to go through it a second time!”
“What’s so awesome about a house?” Rainbow said, swallowing hard. “It doesn’t even go fast.”
“Oh, nothin’,” Applejack said with forced nonchalance. “I just reckoned you were lookin’ for thrills, is all.” She shrugged, looking away. “But if you’d rather just stick with the foal rides ‘cause they ain’t too scary, I understand.”
Rainbow took to the air again, flying in front of Applejack and thrusting her nose in the farmer’s. “Hey, you want to go in the stupid haunted house?” she growled. “We’ll go in there first thing!”
“Fine,” Applejack said, shrugging, “If that’s what you want, it’s right over there,”
Rainbow whirled around, flapping her wings to rise a little higher in the air. The pair had finally crested the last hill, and the Ponyville Faire stretched out in front of them. Off to their left, nestled into the edge of the Everfree Forest, was a rickety wooden building that seemed to lean and twist in all the wrong ways. The branches from the nearby trees seemed to lean over and clutch the house, and numerous thick vines had wormed their way into cracks in the rotting wooden walls. Both ponies winced as a blood-curling shriek rang out from the dilapidated structure.
Applejack forced her hooves into motion again. Suddenly, the haunted house didn’t seem like such an appealing place to start. Biting the inside of her cheek lightly, she forced herself into a trot. “Time’s a-wastin’!” she called back to Rainbow. “Thought you said you wanted to go on all the rides! You can’t do that from up there!”
~~~
“Two, please,” Applejack said to the bored looking stallion as she arrived at the haunted house’s admissions booth.
“Have a good time,” the stallion said, yawning. Applejack eyes flew wide before she started laughing at herself. His mouth was filled with fangs.
I reckon they are takin’ this place seriously this year! Applejack thought, a little unnerved at how convincing those fangs had seemed.
As Rainbow landed next to her, the stallion opened the gate and the pair walked slowly up the cracked stonework path that twisted through the weed-choked courtyard. Before them, a large fountain oozed glowing ichor from a demonic pony’s mouth.
“I hope nopony’s making wishes in that thing,” Rainbow whispered.
“I wouldn’t use that fountain wish anythin’ on my worst enemy,” Applejack replied. As she stepped around the fountain, the demonic pony’s eyes seemed to follow her.
“Well, here we are…” Rainbow said, chuckling weakly as they stood before the house’s rotting front door. Pushing the door lightly with her hoof, both ponies winced as the door hinges screamed like a living thing. “Um… after you.”
“Thanks,” Applejack replied dryly, shooting Rainbow a sidelong glance. Swallowing, she stepped into the house, with Rainbow close behind. Standing at the entrance, they hesitated, taking in the gloomy hallway before them.
“Ah, it’s not so bad in here!” Rainbow said, flipping her hoof dismissively. “It’s just dark and dirty looking. C’mon, AJ. Let’s look ar—”
Applejack and Rainbow shrieked as a section of the nearby wall bent and twisted. Arm-like planks with claws of rusted nails reached for them. Growling, it swiped the air just above Applejack’s hat.
“Ruuuuuuun!” they both screamed, pounding down the narrow corridor. Behind them, the beast snarled and reached for them. Applejack winced as it snagged several of her tail hairs. As Rainbow skidded into the next room, she pivoted, her hooves sliding. Scrambling for purchase, she grabbed hauled Applejack through the door before slamming it closed behind her.
“Welcome,” a silky voice whispered and both Rainbow and Applejack froze. A ghostly pony wrapped in chains floated down from the darkened ceiling, hovering nearby. Its eyes shone with malignant hunger. “So kind of you to drop by. You can’t imagine how long it’s been since I’ve last fed!”
As the creature swooped down toward Rainbow, Applejack shot forward, tackling the pegasus. “You stay away from her, you creepy thing!” she shouted as it disappeared into the ceiling again.
“Ow,” Rainbow said, rubbing her head where she’d slammed it on the floor. “Calm down! It’s just part of the house.”
“I-I knew that!” Applejack said, happy that the haunted house’s dark atmosphere hid most of her blush. “I was just gettin’ into the… uh, spirit of things!” She hooked her leg around Rainbow, hauling her up.
“Hardy har har,” Rainbow said, dusting herself off. “You want me to hold your hoof?”
“No, I’m fine,” Applejack said coolly. “Seems like you were the one shootin’ in here fast as lightnin’.”
“Well…uh,” Rainbow said, looking anywhere but at Applejack, “that’s because I needed to make sure it was safe in here!”
“And you did a fine job,” Applejack replied, rolling her eyes. “No monsters in here at all.”
“Whatever, let’s just get moving.”
Opening the next door, they peered out into a moldering hallway. Several of the doors that lined the path rattled, and the sounds of screaming and pounding hooves chilled both of them.
“You know… I would,” Rainbow said, glancing quickly at Applejack before looking away. “If you wanted.”
“Huh?” Applejack replied, lifting her hoof to step into the eerie hallway before putting it back down again.
“Hold your… uh, nevermind,” Rainbow said, taking the first tentative step.
“I already said I didn’t need no babyin’!” Applejack snapped, moving to follow the pegasus. They both cringed as something unseen nearby slammed against a door gibbering insanely. “But, uh, I wouldn’t say no if you walked a little bit closer.”
Rainbow slowed her pace, sidling up against Applejack. After a moment, she lifted her wing and spread it over the farmer’s back. “It messes up the feathers when they get rubbed a lot,” she said as Applejack turned to stare questioningly.
Applejack felt the heat rising to her face. She could feel the pegasus’ sleek muscles ripple against her with each stride, and the warmth of Rainbow’s wing was more comforting than she’d anticipated. She found herself leaning into her friend as they walked.
“AJ, is it just me,” Rainbow said, her voice quavering, “or are we not going anywhere?”
Applejack shook her head, clearing away the confusing feelings that suddenly seemed to have over-taken her. They’d been walking at a near-trot, but glancing around, she could see that they were still roughing halfway through the short hallway.
“Maybe we ought to pick up the pace a little,” Applejack said, breaking into a brisk trot. Nodding, Rainbow followed suit, her wing bouncing several times against her friend’s back before she folded it against her side. Applejack felt an unexpected wave of disappointment as Rainbow moved away again.
“I… think we’re in trouble!” Rainbow said, pointing.
Applejack gasped as the hallway receded from them. The staircase at the end began to seem smaller and smaller.
“Pick up the pace, Rainbow!” Applejack yelled, breaking into a full gallop. “We’ll be trapped in her forever!”
Wham!
Both ponies stumbled as something slammed powerfully together behind them. Turning their heads in unison, they could see that the door they had come through originally had turned into the maw of some terrible creature, and it was sucking in the hallway’s carpeted runner, pulling them along with it. As they began to lose ground, the mouth slammed closed again bone-shaking force. The ponies quailed as it opened again, eating the runner with even greater speed and laughing.
“Rainbow, just take off!” Applejack yelled as tried to outpace the voracious doorway. “Get outta here!”
“No way!” Rainbow yelled back, staring the farmer down and pouring on more speed. “You always say you’re the fastest, so prove it, slowpoke!”
“All right, I will!” Applejack shot back. Growling, she poured everything she had into her powerful hind legs. Slowly, she began to gain ground on the stairs before her, and the beast behind bellowed in frustration.
“Keep it up!” Rainbow cried, sweat pouring off of her. “We’re gonna make it!”
Suddenly, the stairs stopped receding. Applejack and Rainbow Dash backpedaled furiously, managing to get tangled up together as they attempted not to run headlong into the wrought-iron banister. They both fell, rolling and tumbling until they ran into the stair’s first riser with a loud bang. Panting, Applejack stared around, wide-eyed, then burst out laughing as she spied Rainbow. Somehow, she’d ended up wearing Applejack’s hat backward.
“What’s so funny?” Rainbow fighting a grin that slowly spreading across her face. “We almost got eaten by a door!”
“Almost don’t cut it when you’re talkin’ about Equestria’s premiere athletes!” Applejack said, plucking her hat from Rainbow’s head. “Thanks for hangin’ in there with me,” she said softly, giving the pegasus a squeeze.
“I couldn’t let… well, i-it’s nothing, AJ,” Rainbow said, glancing into Applejack’s eyes before looking away quickly. “It’s just a part of the Faire, anyway. It not like it’s… real?” Both ponies stared down at the tattered runner at the end of the hallway. “It’s just a big, spooky house… on the edge of the Everfree Forest,” Rainbow continued with a gulp. “The forest that’s full of weird, uncontrolled magic…”
“Yeah,” Applejack said, beginning to tremble. “The forest where all kinds of unnaturalness happens all the time.”
“Maaaaybe we should get out of here, AJ,” Rainbow said, her eyes darting back and forth. “I’ll just bust out one of these windows, and then we can go ride the Tarantula.”
“Rainbow,” Applejack said, frowning. “You can’t go bustin’ out windows! This belongs to somepony!”
“Oh, calm down,” Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes. “I’ve got the bits. I’ll pay for it!”
The pegasus took to the air, gaining altitude quickly. With a war cry, she dove for the window, her hooves outstretched. Applejack winced as Rainbow rebounded off of the iron bars that slammed down just as she reached the pane.
“You okay?” Applejack said, rushing to where her friend had fallen.
“Ow!” Rainbow said, rubbing her sore hoof. “I guess we’re not getting out that way,” she said, biting her lip as they both stared at the gated window. The design on the wrought-iron bars looked like tortured ponies, stretched beyond their physical limits.
“Nothin’ for it but to just go on,” Applejack said quietly as she lifted the pegasus back to her hooves. Without a word, Rainbow snuggled up against Applejack, spreading her wing over her back once more.
“I’m glad it’s you in here with me,” Rainbow said softly as they began to make their way up the stairs. “If it was Fluttershy or somepony else, they’d probably have fainted or something, and I’d have to carry them the whole way.”
“If you were here with Fluttershy, you wouldn’t be in this creepy house in the first place,” Applejack said, rolling her shoulder so that the feathery wing sat up a little higher on her back.
“Good point,” Rainbow said, nodding. “Still, I… I’m glad I’m here with you.”
Applejack beamed at the pegasus. “I’m happy it’s you, too, sugarcube,” she said. As they reached the top of the stairs, Applejack paused, her heart hammering inside her chest. Dropping her eyes for a moment, she swallowed hard, then stepped in close to nuzzle the side of Rainbow’s face with her nose. “Real glad,” she added.
Rainbow’s eyes flew wide as she rocked back on her heels. Slowly, she blushed as she touched a hoof to the spot where Applejack had touched her.
“C’mon!” the earth pony said, grabbing Rainbow’s hoof and enfolding it with her own. “I wanna get outta here some day,”
“Applejack,” Rainbow said, her voice filled with disbelief. “You—”
“Let’s go!” Applejack said, pulling her stunned friend along. “I’m thinkin’ we don’t want to be in here when the sun goes down.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure!” Rainbow replied, nodding vigorously. Squeezing Applejack’s hoof, she followed as the earth pony opened the next door.
Both ponies gasped, recoiling from the horrible scene. Inside, a bare bulb hummed and clicked as it struggled to stay on; its intermittent illumination revealing a room filled with experimental creatures that had been sealed away in fluid-filled tanks. Several had been broken, and the horrible creations lay in wet patches on the floor. In the flickering light, Applejack and Rainbow could only guess as to what that moisture might actually be.
“So, we just need to get over there, right?” Rainbow said, pointing to the stained metal door on the opposite side of the room.
“I-I reckon,” Applejack replied, stepping carefully around the mysterious damp patches on the floor. “Just gotta watch—”
Both ponies screamed as one of the things on the floor lifted its head, gurgling unintelligibly at them. Their manes bristled as the thing’s flabby, mucous-covered arm shot out, digging furrows into the floor as it dragged itself forward.
Applejack tried to reverse course, but slipped in a patch of slick mucous. Crying out, she fell to the ground, slamming her head into the tile hard enough to see stars. She tried to get her hooves under herself again, but her head was ringing like a bell. With a yelp, she fell again, wincing as she slammed her elbow painfully into the floor. Looking up, she saw that the monster was almost upon her
“Oh, no you don’t!” Rainbow yelled, swooping down and lifting the earth pony out of harm’s way just before the creature’s slimy hand closed around her. “You stay away from her!”
The creature roared unintelligibly, struggling to rise. As it tilted a lump that might have been a head to the side, a fetid fold of skin shifted, revealing a single baleful eye. Gibbering, it lurched toward where Rainbow was hovering.
“We… gotta get out of here!” Rainbow said, panting. “I can’t hold you up for much longer!”
“I know!” Applejack shouted. “Just get us to that door.”
Bobbing and dipping, Rainbow flew over the creature, gasping as Applejack kicked at the grasping hands that clawed at her. Desperately, she flapped her wings with all of her might, gaining just enough altitude to pull them out of harm’s way.
“Keep it up, Rainbow!” Applejack called from below. “I know you can do it!”
Dripping sweat, the pegasus angled toward the door, dropping rapidly as she glided downward. As she neared the floor, she released Applejack and landed in a crumpled heap, gasping for air.
“I hate to say it, sugarcube,” Applejack said, throwing legs around the pegasus,” but we ain’t got no time for breaks!” With a grunt, she threw Rainbow Dash over her back.
“AJ, what—”
“We gotta get outta here, so I’ll carry you!” Applejack said, yanking on the door. It didn’t budge. “Oh, no!” she wailed.
“It’s… locked?!” Rainbow said, her voice ratcheting up a few octaves as she sucked in huge lungfuls of air.
Applejack stole a look over her shoulder. Every time the light came back on, the she could see that shambling horror had gotten closer. Lashing out, it slammed its slab-like limbs into anything it could reach. As it smashed a nearby tank, Applejack heard her friend swallow loudly.
“Rainbow,” Applejack said in a low voice, “I got a plan, but it’s gonna be dangerous.” She was sure that Rainbow could feel her trembling, but she turned to face the monster, jamming her hat more squarely onto her head. “I’m gonna jump outta the way at the last second, and let that thing smash this here door to bits.” She turned her head to look behind her, making sure she had Rainbow’s attention. “But that means at the next to last second, I need you to take off!”
“Right!” Rainbow said, adopting a combative snarl. “We’ll show this thing who’s boss!”
“Okay, then,” Applejack said, taking a deep, steadying breath. Before her, the monstrosity howled, smashing its limbs into the floor and showering them with tile shards. As it dragged its fetid body across the floor to where they stood, it pulled an arm back.
“Now, Rainbow!” Applejack shouted.
It went wrong immediately. Deceptively fast, the horror lashed out at the pegasus as she launched off of Applejack’s back. Only Dash’s years of Wonderbolts training saved her. As the slimy talons reached for her, she twisted her wings, barrel-rolling over the arm. As the monster pulled back for a second strike, Applejack noticed that the claws had torn out several large feathers. Out of control, Rainbow slammed into a wall.
“Down here, you varmint!” Applejack screamed, kicking several large chucks of floor up at the beast’s face. Charging the beast, she jumped, launching a kick into it side. “Hey, you—ugh!”
Applejack’s leg sank into the monster’s putrescent body, and the odor issuing from its punctured skin made the earth pony gag. Looking down, the beast roared at her. I guess I got its attention, at least, Applejack thought, trembling. Behind the monster, she could see Rainbow climbing back to her hooves, shaking her head to clear away the cobwebs.
“I’m okay,” Rainbow called out, sounding a little woozy.
Applejack let out a relieved sigh before jumping desperately to the left. Her teeth rattled as the creature’s monstrous arm slammed down on the space she had just vacated. Applejack winced as the tiles shattered, leaving a crater several feet deep. “All right, you!” she said, tossing another chunk of rock at the thing’s head with all her strength. “Come and get me!”
The farmer darted away, weaving back and forth as she tried to time the monster’s strike properly. She needed it to hit the door squarely or the effort would be wasted. But I can’t keep this up forever! she though as she leapt over the swiping claws. Leaping to the door, she swore as the beast smashed the wall several feet to the right, cutting off her escape.
“Hold on, AJ!” Rainbow called, dropping a heavy piece of lab equipment onto the thing’s head. The pegasus gagged as a cloud of putrid vapor poured from the wound. “I got this!” she said, coughing.
Applejack held her breath as the pegasus banked and turned in ever more constrictive circles in front of the door. She could see the intense look of concentration on Rainbow’s face as her increasing velocity threatened to throw her out of her pattern. Any mistake now would probably knock Rainbow Dash unconscious. “You can do it!” Applejack whispered, clasping her hooves together in front of her chest. “I know you can!”
With a roar that shook the room, the beast punched its arm out, and at that moment, Rainbow broke her pattern. The beast’s flabby skin rippled as the pegasus streaked by, her rainbow contrail encircling the room as she furiously worked to bleed off the speed she’d built up.
The thing’s claws smashed the door to bits, and as it pulled back for another strike, Applejack leapt into the open doorway. “Come to me!” she cried, holding her legs out wide. “I’ll catch you!”
Rainbow banked, streaking past the monstrosity’s head. It growled as it coiled for another strike but the pegasus was simply too fast. Like a bullet, she shot through the doorway and into Applejack’s waiting legs.
“Oof!” Applejack grunted, tumbling end over end.
“Ack!” Rainbow replied, clutching the earth pony.
Together they tumbled across the floor, and Applejack curled a protective hoof around Rainbow’s head, trying to protect the pegasus as the bounced and rolled. They both cried out as they slammed into a door.
And with a loud bang, they were suddenly outside. Blinking in the waning sunlight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash clung to each other, breathing hard. Muzzle to muzzle, Applejack could feel the pegasus’ warm breath tickling her nose. She could feel the strong, steady beat of their racing hearts, and despite the terror she still felt, it was strangely thrilling to be in this mare’s embrace.
“Oh, to hell with it!” Applejack said.
“Wha—” Rainbow began.
Applejack pulled the pegasus to her, tilting her head a little as she kissed Rainbow aggressively. She could feel her friend stiffing in surprise, her wings extending, then flapping reflexively. Undaunted, she pressed hungrily, her heart soaring as Rainbow returned the kiss. As Rainbow pushed the earth pony onto her back, Applejack drew her in close, making sure to keep from crumpling Rainbow’s feather as she tightened the embrace.
“Whoa, I guess you guys really liked my haunted house, huh?” a merry voice said.
Releasing each other, both mares scooted backward, blushing furiously.
“Pinkie?” Applejack said, goggling at her friend’s sudden appearance. After the gloom of the haunted house, Pinkie’s vibrancy was almost shocking.
“Your haunted house?!” Rainbow cried, throwing her hooves up into the air. “That place nearly killed us!”
“Huh?” Pinkie said, raising an eyebrow. “But that place is funnerific! I even took the girls through it after school!” Pinkie bounced rapidly up and down. “They loved it!” Pinkie stopped, smiling slyly. “I never would have guessed that you two were such scaredy-ponies!”
“Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind?!” Applejack said, climbing back to her hooves. “You took Apple Bloom in there?!”
“Well, yeah,” Pinkie said, shrugging. “Why not? It’s all just spooky fun.”
“There’s nothing fun about that place!” Rainbow yelled, turning to point at the house. “It’s a…”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s mouths fell open as they turned. What had once been a looming, dark, twisted structure was now a riot of silly ghosts, rubber bats, and dancing skeletons, all painted on a small wooden shack.
“But…” Applejack said, taking a few involuntary steps away from the house.
“… That’s not possible!” Rainbow finished. She turned to look at Applejack, then to the curious Pinkie, and back to Applejack again. “That really happened, right?” she said to the farmer.
Applejack lifted one of Rainbow’s wings, running her hoof over the gaps the torn feathers had left behind. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “It happened all right, but it looks like it ain’t happenin’ no more.” She looked up, holding Rainbow’s eyes with her own. “I-I can’t explain it, but you know what?” She ran a hoof through Rainbow’s mane, drawing the pegasus close. “I was awful scared in there, but you were with me every step of the way.” Applejack blushed, biting her lip before continuing. “I… I’d like it if you’d be there with me from now on.”
“Are you asking me out?!” Rainbow said, her eyes lighting up. She laughed as Applejack nodded, suddenly shy. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to ask you out for months! I was kinda hoping for the Tunnel of Love or something, but I guess this works, too!”
They both turned as Pinkie sniffed loudly. Standing nearby, she was mopping her eyes with a handkerchief. “Y-you guys liked my haunted house so much that it made you fall in love!” she said, hiccupping. “They’re totally going to ask me to do it again next year!” she continued, a wide smile spreading across her face.
“Uh…” Rainbow said, glancing at Applejack apprehensively.
“Hey, you two!” Pinkie squealed, pulling a large camera from seemingly nowhere. “Let’s get a picture!”
As Pinkie extended the legs on a tripod, Applejack stole another kiss. Laughing, Rainbow was just about to return the favor when Pinkie’s camera flashed, catching the moment.
“C’mon, Dash,” Applejack said. “Let’s go ride The Tarantula.”